When Vancouver Sgt. Peter Groenland volunteered to lead a charity motorcycle ride for prostate cancer he didn’t know the ride might end up benefiting him.

“It’s sort of ironic,” said Groenland yesterday, who was diagnosed with a lump on his prostate two weeks ago and will undergo a biopsy May 12.

In January, Groenland, a VPD traffic officer, agreed to head Motorcycle Ride for Dad, a national fund and awareness raising campaign for prostate cancer that will be held in Vancouver and 18 other cities across Canada.

“My mother died of cancer,” said Groenland.

“I don’t think any of us have a loved one who’s not been touched by cancer.”

Dr. Paul Rennie of Vancouver General Hospital’s Prostate Cancer Research Centre said 21,000 men are diagnosed with the cancer in Canada every year. In B.C. about 3,000 men are diagnosed annually and 500 die.

About 150,000 to 200,000 Canadian men are living with the disease, Rennie said.